COVID-19 CalFresh emergency allotment for February, 2022

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California has been approved to issue an emergency allotment of CalFresh for February, 2022.  All households will receive at least the maximum CalFresh allotment.  Households eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size are now eligible to receive an emergency allotment of $95 per month. Households who are not eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size, but whose emergency allotment would be less than $95 per month to receive the maximum allotment, will receive additional CalFresh benefits to raise their emergency allotment to the $95 minimum.

The emergency allotment will be issued on March 20, 2022 for CalWIN counties and March 27, 2022 for CalSAWS counties.

Moving forward, emergency allotments may be approved by FNS on a month-to-month basis until the Secretary of Health and Human Services rescinds the public health emergency.  There will be a one-month phase out of emergency allotments after the public health emergency is rescinded.  (ACWDL, February 23, 2022.)

EDD language access

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The Employment Development Department (EDD) has agreed to several measures to increase language access.  EDD will continue to provide no-cost language interpreter services in any language; expand existing in-language phone lines that currently include Cantonese, English, Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese to include Armenian, Korean and Tagalog; and translate unemployment insurance documents for claimants into 15 non-English languages.

EDD is also building a multilanguage web portal, establishing a Language Access Office, and convening a multilingual advisory board. (News Release 22-11, February 28, 2022.)

Revision of SOC 473 CAPI form

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The California Department of Social Services has issued a revised SOC 473 form for screening of Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) Household Expenses and Contributions form.

Among other things, the new SOC 473 form:

Defines key terms for the CAPI program.

Screens for the Medicaid Medical Facility payment standard.

Screens for the out of home payment standard.

Screens for separate household status of people living in the same household as a CAPI applicant.

CDSS also clarified its policy regarding when a CAPI applicant is unable to obtain third-party verification.  When the applicant or recipient is unable to obtain required documentation from a third party, the county should obtain a written statement under penalty of perjury from the claimant stating that he or she does not have the requested information, naming the third party who does have the information, and that the applicant or recipient asked the third party for the information and the third party did not provide it.  When third parties fail to provide documentation requested by the county to determine CAPI eligibility, the county must accept the claimant’s sworn statement regarding payment of rent and rental liability.  (ACL 22-12, February 16, 2022, ACL 22-12E, August 17, 2022.)

Shared housing in the Housing Choice Voucher program

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The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued guidance regarding use of Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) in shared housing.  Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) may allow shared housing.  PHAs must allow shared housing as a reasonable accommodation to allow the HCV program to be used by persons with disabilities.

Assisted families can share a unit with either HCV assisted persons or unassisted persons.  The owner of the property can reside in the unit but housing assistance cannot be paid on the owner’s behalf.  A resident owner cannot be related to the assisted family by blood or marriage except as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability.  If approved by the PHA, a live-in aid may reside with the family to care for a person with disabilities.

The entire unit must meet Housing Quality Standards to be approved for shared housing.

The payment standard for a family in shared housing is the lower of the PHA’s payment standard for the family unit size or the pro-rata share of the PHA’s payment standard for the shared housing unit size.  The Housing Assistance Payment in shared housing is the lower of the payment standard minus the total tenant payment or the gross rent minus the total tenant payment.  The utility allowance for an assisted family in shared housing is the pro-rata share of the utility allowance for the shared housing unit.  (PIH Notice 2021-05, January 15, 2021.)

Elimination of periodic reporting for CalFresh Elderly Simplified Application Project households

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The Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP) is a federal waiver to allow elderly and disabled CalFresh households to waive recertification interviews, use data matching to reduce needed verifications, extend certification period for up to 36 months, and waive the requirement to contact the household every 12 months, which eliminates the need to send and collect SAR-7 reports.

These waivers apply to households where all members are either elderly (age 60 or older) or disabled with no earned income.  Households that include excluded or ineligible members who are also elderly or disabled are eligible for ESAP.

The California Department of Social Services has announced that the elimination of periodic reporting for ESAP households will be effective on March 1, 2022 through September 30, 2026.  ESAP households will no longer need to complete a periodic report at 12th and 24th months of their 36-month certification period.  ESAP households will still need to complete mandatory mid-period reporting, including gross income over the Income Reporting Threshold during the 36 month-certification period.  If an ESAP household submits a SAR 7 report due on or after March 1, 2022, the county must treat it as a voluntary mid-period report.

ESAP households will get a notice in early March, 2022 informing them that they will no longer need to submit SAR 7 reports to maintain their CalFresh eligibility.  Counties must continue to issue notices at the 12th and 24th months of the certification period to report income over the income reporting threshold. (ACL 22-15, February 10, 2022.)

COVID-19 updated information regarding submitting SOC 873

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The California Department of Social Services has provided information about completion of the In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) SOC 873 form.

Counties can allow a good cause extension for failure to submit the IHSS SOC 873 form within 45 days of application when they were unable to do so because their health care provider was unavailable because of work related to COVID-19.  The option for that good cause extension is extended through the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency in California.  Counties can determine on a case-by-case basis when good cause exists. This evaluation should consider various factors including the applicant being in the hospital, the health care professional scheduling appointments more than 45 days out, the SOC 873 being lost in the mail, and the applicant’s primary health care provider being unavailable because of the Omicron variant.  (ACL 22-11, February 9, 2022.)